THE Federal Government has revoked 1,263 mineral licences across the country after their holders allegedly failed to pay the mandatory annual service fees.
The action, approved by Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on the recommendation of the Mining Cadastral Office (MCO), covers 584 exploration licences, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licences and 470 small-scale mining leases.
A statement on Sunday, September 22, by Segun Tomori, the Special Assistant on Media to the minister, said the titles had been deleted from the MCO’s electronic portal, opening the areas to fresh applications from investors.
Alake said the move was part of a drive to clear speculators from the sector and encourage serious investors.
“The era of obtaining licences and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites is over. The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the license because the law allows you to return the license if you change your mind,” the minister said.
He also warned that revocation did not cancel the debts owed, adding that the ministry would forward the list of defaulters to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to recover outstanding fees or prosecute offenders.
“This is to encourage due diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the license application processes with speculative activities,” he noted.
The statement further added that the Director-General of MCO, Simon Nkom, mentioned in his recommendation that the process began after a notice of intention to revoke licences was published in the Federal Government Gazette on June 19, 2025, giving defaulters 30 days to comply under the Minerals and Mining Act 2007.
He also disclosed that out of 1,957 initial defaulters, some reconciled their payments before the final decision.
“He informed the minister that the gazette was distributed to MCO offices nationwide to sensitise licencees and encourage them to comply within 30 days in compliance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and relevant regulations.
“He observed that the delay in the final recommendation was due to complaints of several licensees who claimed to have paid to the Federal Government through Remita and had to be reconciled.
“The latest revocation brings the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration to 3, 794 including,619 mineral titles revoked for defaulting in paying annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year,” the statement added.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M